Joe Leydon

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, June 4, 2003

The arrival of The Italian Job confirms a suspicion raised by such recent releases as Willard, The In-Laws and Sweet November. Apparently, Holly-

wood moviemakers have run out of great movies to remake, so theyre going after second-tier efforts to recycle. Which, when you think about it, may not be such a bad thing.

To be sure, its rarely a good idea to take a second crack at a classic. (Just the folks who tried to make lightning strike twice with updates of King Kong, Psycho, Planet of the Apes, ad nauseum.) But remaking a less-than-perfect original?

Well, why not? After all, two other directors made hashes of The Maltese Falcon before John Huston filmed his definite version of Dashiell Hammetts novel in 1941.

And even though the 1969 edition of Italian Job has its many admirers especially in Great Britain, where it commands an inexplicably devout cult following its really nothing more than a lightweight caper comedy with a modestly clever premise, a few scraps of amusing dialogue, a first-rate cast (including Michael Caine, Noel Coward and Benny Hill) and a dandy ending that is, quite literally, a cliff-hanger. ##M:(full story)##

The new version, fleetly directed by F. Gary Gray (The Negotiator) from a script by Donna and Wayne Powers, is much better fewer laughs, maybe, but much more excitement in almost every conceivable way.

Back in 69, the seriocomic fun was spun from the not-entirely-masterful planning of Charlie Crocker (Caine), an ambitious ex-con who stages a massive traffic jam on the streets of Turin, then uses three tiny Mini Cooper cars to evade pursuers while fleeing with a stolen gold shipment. The makers of the remake jettison just about everything but the gold, the traffic jam and the Mini Coopers, and use those remaining elements to connect the dots in a slightly more serious and appreciably more satisfying scenario.

The 2003 version of Charlie Croker now an American, played by Mark Wahlberg is a novice mastermind whos introduced while collaborating with his former mentor (Donald Sutherland) on the latters final caper.

Together, the partners in crime lead their hand-picked cohorts a nervy break-in artist (Edward Norton), a computer whiz (Seth Green), an explosives expert (rapper-actor Mos Def) and a hunky getaway driver (Jason Stratham) in a bold gold robbery that involves meticulously timed explosions, underwater safecracking and a high-speed chase through the canals of Venice.

Unfortunately, theres no honor among these thieves. After the heist, the break-in artist steals the stolen gold, leaving his ex-partners for dead. Like most movie bad guys, however, he flees the scene of the crime before determining an accurate body count. Charlie, who is very much alive, leads other surviving members of the crew in a mission of revenge. And he gets some valuable assistance from his mentors normally law-abiding daughter: Stella Bridger, (Charlize Theron), a gorgeous security consultant who obviously learned a few safecracking tips from dear old dad.

Impressively slick and tricky, the new and improved Italian Job is a state-of-the-art caper flick that bounds from scene to the next with a relentless pace and clockwork precision. The script provides just enough comic relief to keep things seriously interesting, and the well-cast actors inhabit their roles with flair and conviction.

The Mini Coopers which appear on screen so often, and so prominently, its tempting to view some sequences as commercial breaks turn out to be very handy vehicles, though not quite for the reasons that Charlie and company originally intend. Thats just one of the pleasant surprises that the movie has up its stylish sleeve.

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Examiner columnist Joe Leydon can be reached at joeleydon@earthlink.com.